Tonko won re-election in 2012, but due to [[Redistricting in New York|New York's redistricting]], he ran in the newly redrawn 20th district.<ref>[http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/capital-region-scene/2012/apr/18/0418_tonkoblog/ ''(Schenectady) Daily Gazette'' "Tonko campaign flush with funds," April 18, 2012]</ref> He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated [[Robert Dieterich]] in the November 6, 2012, general election.<ref name="apny">[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2012/by_state/NY_US_House_0626.html?SITE=CSPANELN&SECTION=POLITICS ''AP/CSPAN'' "New York-Summary Vote Report," June 26, 2012]</ref> He also ran as a Working Families and Independence candidate.<ref>[http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2012/General/Combined_2012_GEN_INT_NoPE.pdf New York Board of Elections "2012 Candidate List" Accessed October 17, 2012]</ref> <ref>[http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/house/new-york/ ''Politico'' "2012 Election Map, New York"]</ref>

Tonko won re-election in 2012, but due to [[Redistricting in New York|New York's redistricting]], he ran in the newly redrawn 20th district.<ref>[http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/capital-region-scene/2012/apr/18/0418_tonkoblog/ ''(Schenectady) Daily Gazette'' "Tonko campaign flush with funds," April 18, 2012]</ref> He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated [[Robert Dieterich]] in the November 6, 2012, general election.<ref name="apny">[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2012/by_state/NY_US_House_0626.html?SITE=CSPANELN&SECTION=POLITICS ''AP/CSPAN'' "New York-Summary Vote Report," June 26, 2012]</ref> He also ran as a Working Families and Independence candidate.<ref>[http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2012/General/Combined_2012_GEN_INT_NoPE.pdf New York Board of Elections "2012 Candidate List" Accessed October 17, 2012]</ref> <ref>[http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/house/new-york/ ''Politico'' "2012 Election Map, New York"]</ref>

Prior to his congressional career Gibson served as president of the president of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Tonko is one of the most reliable Democratic votes, meaning he can be considered a safe vote for the Democratic Party in Congress.

Biography

Tonko was born in Amsterdam, New York. He earned a B.A. from Clarkson University in 1971.[1]

Career

After earning his degree, Tonko began to work as a public works engineer and state transportation agency employee. He was a member of Montgomery County's (New York) Board of Supervisors from 1976-1983, chairman of Montgomery County's (New York) Board of Supervisors in 1981, and a member of the New York State Assembly from 1983-2007. After finishing his last term, Tonko served as president of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority from 2007-2008.[2]

Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Tonko voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[6]

Elections

2012

Tonko won re-election in 2012, but due to New York's redistricting, he ran in the newly redrawn 20th district.[7] He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Robert Dieterich in the November 6, 2012, general election.[8] He also ran as a Working Families and Independence candidate.[9][10]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Paul Tonko, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Paul Tonko won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Theodore Danz (R) in the general election.[11]

U.S. House, New York District 21 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Paul Tonkoincumbent

56.9%

124,889

Republican

Theodore J. Danz, Jr.

39.1%

85,752

Blank/Scattering

Write-in

4%

8,784

Total Votes

219,425

2008

On November 4, 2008, Paul Tonko won election to the United States House. He defeated James Buhrmaster (R) and Phillip Steck (Independence) in the general election.[12]

U.S. House, New York District 21 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Paul Tonko

54.9%

171,286

Republican

James Buhrmaster

31%

96,599

Independence

Phillip Steck

2.6%

7,965

N/A

Blank/Scattering

11.6%

36,081

Total Votes

311,931

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Tonko is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, Tonko raised a total of $2,711,107 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 23, 2013.[13]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Tonko missed 21 of 3,363 roll call votes from Jan 2009 to Apr 2013, which is 0.6% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. [17]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Tonko paid his congressional staff a total of $961,575 in 2011. Overall, New York ranked 28th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[18]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Tonko was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Tonko's staff was given an apparent $15,934.00 in bonus money.[19]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Tonko's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,001 to $15,000. That averages to $8,000, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic House members in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth did not change from 2010.[20]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Tonko's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,001 to $15,000. Averaging to a net worth of $8,000 which was lower than the average net worth of Democrats in 2010 of $4,465,875.[21]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Tonko tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 98th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[22]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Tonko tied with 19 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 1st in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[23]

Percentage voting with party

June 2013

Paul Tonko voted with the Democratic Party 93.8% of the time, which ranked 58th among the 201 House Democratic members as of June, 2013.

Recent news

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